Minister for Defence and National Service, Dr Hussein Mwinyi
The affirmation was aired by Minister for Defence and National Service, Dr Hussein Mwinyi yesterday in Dar es Salaam during the wreath laying event at Mnazi Mmoja grounds to commemorate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
The theme for this year’s UN Peacekeeping day is ‘A force for peace, a force for change, a force for the future.’
“We will not hesitate to contribute more troops where possible in a bid to ensure continuity of this noble duty…” he told attending delegates.
He said that to date, Tanzania has contributed at least 2,259 peacekeepers in Darfur, Lebanon, Abyei, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“We are doing a good thing and our course is supported by the UN and African Union (AU) as well and in this effort we will no falter,” he emphasized.
According to him, the success of the peacekeepers can be seen in various places among them, the DRC, where the intervention Brigade (FIB), a joint effort by the UN and Africa helped the government there defeat M23 rebels.
He was keen to point out that, the UN Peacekeeping efforts are improving to tackle emerging challenges, to protect citizens as well as to ensure peace for tomorrow’s prosperous future.
He said the peacekeepers whose lives have been lost for the course, their dedication and sacrifices shall not end in vain.
Acting UN resident coordinator and United Nation Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative Dr Jama Gulaid said today, more than 116,000 UN personnel from more than 120 countries serve in 16 peacekeeping operations despite great personal risk posed.
“I take this opportunity to sincerely thank the government of Tanzania for deploying police peacekeepers, especially female officers, to war torn regions including Darfur, where they continue to serve at gender desks assisting women and girls who are victims of gender based violence,” he noted.
Tanzania peacekeeper, ASP Eva Stesheni who served in Sudan from 2009 to 2011 seconded the delegates stand noting that indeed the course is a noble one and must be continues and strengthened to meet even more emerging threats.
According to her, the single main obstacle they faced in the course of executing their duties is language barriers.
Last year, 106 peacekeepers perished carrying out their duty under the UN flag, bringing the total number of lives lost in the global history of peacekeeping to more than 3,200.
UN peacekeeping efforts have a long and proud history, with more than one million peacekeepers having served in more than 70 operations on four continents since its establishment in 1948.
Globally, last year, 106 peacekeepers perished carrying out their duty under the UN flag, among them 10 soldiers were from Tanzania.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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